Nu Nguyen
English 1A
February 26th, 2013
“On Being A Cripple” Response Essay
In the article, “On Being A Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, she tells the reader how she lives her life as a cripple with MS, explaining the hardships that she goes through, but is able to show how positive she can be. There are many instances where Mairs runs into trouble in her everyday life, but she is able to laugh about it which is tough to do for many people. Mairs gives many examples how she lives her life like any other person; working two jobs, has a family with kids of her own, overcoming hardships.
In the very beginning of the article, Mairs tells us of when she falls in the bathroom stall. Mairs tells us this in a humorous way, which is very surprising; a majority of people would definitely be frustrated in that kind of situation, but she is able to laugh it off. She also gives us a representation of her physical appearance, noting that she has a couple flaws, but doesn't make a big deal out of it.
Mairs uses the word, “cripple” to describe herself quite often, and makes it clear from the beginning that that is what she is. To the general audience, the word, “cripple” can be quite the offensive word, but Mairs doesn't mind the word, in fact, she says the word explains her exact situation. In my honest opinion, it's rare to find a handicapped person that is so positive in their situation. I personally get upset when I have trouble doing an easy task, an easy task I think a handicapped person would have trouble doing, so it's amazing to see that Mairs can turn frustration into laughter.
Despite being “crippled”, Mairs shows us that she lives a perfectly normal life. By a normal life, I mean that she has two jobs, and is raising a family.
I remember watching a short video of this man playing basketball by himself. While playing and dribbling the ball, he's making these excuses like, “I'm too